Diaval
by Ripeahunt
Summary: The story of Diaval, from his birth to post-movie
1. Prologue

Ingram flew through the night air, shivering. It was late, they should've been roosting by now. For some reason, the unkindness had decided to venture into the moors. She had known that it was a bad idea, but they had insisted. And now they were split up and Lugh only knows what happened to them. Slowly, more and more ravens joined her in her frantic race for a proper tree to roost in outside of the moors. Bram spiraled down next to her with a worried crease in his neck. Rolling her eyes, she cast out her senses. Yup, all nineteen of them were there. Letting out a little affirmative croak, she races towards a tree that she spotted fairly close. It looked adequate. Spiraling down, she roosted upon an upper branch, and Bram settled down next to her. The rest followed.

The months passed, and the circulation of ravens was continual. Some, not hatchlings anymore but not far from it, would join after leaving the nest, looking for a safe unkindness so as not to perish before their twelfth moon. The eldest would split off in pairs to go mate, raise a family, and all of those other things that spelled out responsibility and being tied down. Ingram swore that it would never happen to her, even though she knew that the words were empty. She would have a family, just as sure as the sun would rise and set, just as sure as the fae would heal the forest, just as sure as the humans would lust and greed. Such was the way that the world was, and Ingram could do naught to change it. More and more was she getting proposals, more and more shiny rocks would be left where she was meant to roost. She was nearing her twentieth moon, and it was unusual for her to have not settled yet, but she did not want to settle. She wanted to be free, to wander the moors at night, to fly over the grandeur of the humans' palace, to see the southern dragons' riches and the northern dragons' prowess. She wanted to find the forest where the unicorns rode from dusk to dawn, wanted to find the land with the queen who had sold her soul for beauty, only to be killed by her own daughter. Ingram had had such high hopes and unreachable dreams, but alas, it was not meant to be.

The next moon, she accepts Bram's proposal, but never stops looking towards the sky. The materials for her nest come from the far reaches of the forests and the lands. She says that this is because she wants the best materials, and only the best materials, but really, she thinks to herself one night when Bram is asleep and she's looking out into the distance, she wants to feel like she still has the freedom that she used to have. She knows that it's an illusion, that now she has responsibilities and obligations. She can no longer fly to where the sun meets the sea and turns the sky and water burnt orange, or to where the mountains meet the sky and the world turns white. She will have a family soon, and she realises this will mean the end of her freedom to live. The thought makes a feather fall out, and it spirals down the cliff face. Ingram resolves to think no more on the subject.

She does lay eggs, and sits on them for days. When, at last, the things hatch, she smiles in relief. She can leave the nest now. She names them: Ren, the fiercest; Freya, the prettiest; Brena, the loudest; Corbin, the strongest; and Diaval, the fastest. She loves her children with all her might, through the clouded resentment that she feels towards them for tying her down and the piercing sadness that she feels for being held back. The first time that she leaves the nest after that is to get food. She leaves Bram on top of the hatchlings, and flies into the woods.

She finds most of the food, leaving Bram on top of the hatchlings most of the time. Freya is much too curious for the chick's own good, though, and when both Ingram and Bram are away looking for food, the chick falls. There is an air of gloom over their nest for a few days, but life doesn't stop just because a fledgling dies. Life moves on and so do they.

That night, Ingram flies out to see where the sun meets the sea and the sky turns the color of a burning candle. They never see her again.


	2. Chapter 1

When Diaval is young, his father tells him that he will be great. This is to soften the blow of Mother leaving, he knows, but Father means it. He tells this to all of them, though, so Diaval pays it little are four of them at that point: Diaval, Brena, Corbin, and Ren. There are very few things that make him different from his nestmates, so he develops an identity early, so as to not be left to fall - Freya fell, and they hadn't seen her since. After that Diaval stays near the center of the nest, or the side closer to the cliff face. He doesn't want to fall, too. He is not the strongest, or the fiercest, or the shapeliest. He doesn't have the best eye, or the best hearing. But he is the fastest, and used that to his advantage. In the flying games that they play from their fortieth day onwards, Diaval raced ahead of his siblings, laughing at them trying to catch up. He returns to the nest first, and settles close to the mountain, because, while Diaval likes to fly, he does not want to fall. Freya lingers at the back of his mind, and he shakes his head to rid himself of the image. It does no good to linger on that which you cannot change. The next day when they are out, the dog gets to Ren. Diaval decides to stay away from dogs after that.

On his hundredth day, Diaval and his remaining siblings decide to go up to the top of the cliff above their nest. From there, they can see from the moors to the palace of the human kings, from the place where the sun meets the sea and turns the sky burnt orange (or so they'd been told) to where the jagged peaks of the north pierce the skin of the cloudy, grey sky. Diaval is the first to dive off of the cliff with his wings open, to show that he is not scared: he's terrified, but he has to prove to himself that what happened to Freya won't happen to him. He can fly now, so he will not fall. But, while he is gone, a hawk catches Corbin. He understands then that flying does not solve everything.

By Diaval's sixth moon, he has learned to stay close to the things that he cherishes, and almost never lets Brena out of his sight. She is a headstrong young bird, so staying close to her means shadowing her as she flits around from rocks to pools to anything that catches her fancy. Diaval is faster than her, so this does not prove to be a difficult task, but it is rather doesn't mind, though, as long as Brena is safe and happy, he is happy. Brena likes to go to the deep moors, where there is still some of the happy magic that they were told about as children, before the humans and fae were at war; she likes to visit the human palace and imagine the splendour of the court's days long before (Diaval and Bren spend so long in the human palace that Diaval could find his way around it asleep); she likes to look to the northern peaks and the southern hills and imagine the dragon kings from the days of the ancients, shooting their flames across the sky. Father says that Brena is so much like their mother - ready to have an adventure and fly off into the sunset - and both fledglings lap up the mention of their long-gone mother. Father gets very sad, though, and flaps off into the brightening grey sky. That night, he returns, and tells them that they need to leave home. He dismantles the nest the next night.

* * *

They find an unkindness, but they stick by themselves, and nobody really minds them. Brena is still the headstrong, carefree thing that she was in the nest, and Diaval is still her loyal shadow. They scout the far reaches of the kingdom, the places that the others don't venture to. Diaval has little interest in the other ravens, and Brena has brutally shot down any and all proposals that come her way. She says that this is because she is uninterested in mating and having a clutch, but Diaval knows that it's because she's scared of becoming their mother, of feeling so tied down by her responsibilities that she feels obliged to shirk them. Diaval understands, though. He doesn't want to be their mother either, leaving the people that need him. He also doesn't want to be his father, mated to a raven that wants to be free, tying down a free spirit that wants to roam. He really just wants to be Diaval, but between Brena and Father and the unkindness, there is no room for Diaval. That's okay, though. He's accepted that by now.

Brena is still unsatisfied with their roaming area, though, and she decides to set out for the north mountains, and when Brena makes up her mind about something, it is not easily changed. Of course, since Brena is going, Diaval is going, too. They decide to leave in their thirteenth moon, but preparations need to be made. Food needs to be eaten, enough so that during the harsh northern winters the pair doesn't starve. They need to dismantle their nest, and fatten for insulation. They will also need to leave during the fall, so that the fat is not gone by the time that they reach the peaks, with the dragons and stone castles and sorcerers. Diaval spends time preening, also, to preserve his likeness to Freya, who marks his first taste of loss.

Their father somehow hears of their journey, and finds them before they leave. He wishes them luck, and tells them to keep an eye out for their mother. They agree, if only to placate the elder raven. He seems pleased, and reminds them to return if the snows get too heavy or the winds get too harsh. They agree, and part ways with him on good terms. Brena is annoyed at the delay in their plans, but Diaval is more patient. Keeping good relations with those that have potential to help you is important, especially if they wish to keep good relations with you. Brena is not yet mature enough to understand this, but she will learn in time.

Flying down, they see that the grass is turning golden and the skies are turning grey. They will have to leave soon if they wish to make it to the north before the first snowfall. In the moors it does not snow often, so they fear that they have forgotten how to fly and live in snow, and they will need the full season to relearn the skill. It will take a while, but they will learn.

Sufficiently fed and ready, they plan to stop at a nearby pasture that they have frequented in the past few moons (later, Diaval will reflect that this probably wasn't the wisest decision that they could have made). Diaval perches on a scarecrow to scout out the field. Satisfied with the seemingly empty land, he flies down to peck at a piece of corn. Out of nowhere, a net falls over him, and he shrieks in outrage and disbelief. Hearing this, Brena lets out a soft croak of acknowledgement, and he can hear her begin her journey north. Wishing the best of luck for her, he turns to face the dogs, resigning himself to a fate not dissimilar to Ren's.


End file.
